progress is reportedly being made in talk toes avoid the u.s. fiscal cliff. another top republican lawmakers offers an olive branch to the white house. >>> and sylvia berlusconi accuses the current premier as being german-centric. >>> and the dfw returns to a new year high. >> you're watching "worldwide exchange." bringing us business news from around the globe. >>> 13220 is the level of the dow. the nasdaq is trying to add five of six points. we're seeing a bit of a rebound shaping up here in the red. the ftse global 300 is up about .2%. for the most part, it's all green across europe. the ftse 1100 adding .2%. the xetra dax and cac 40 in germany, paris, better than .5%. up 1% after falling double that yesterday. we're seeing gains in italy and portugal, ross, as invest everies have now perhaps priced in the latest turmoil in italy. >> absolutely. meanwhile, unemployment may have ticked down 7..7%. 10.9% for those aged 18 to 29 and this one saying they're struggling to fill vacancies because of a lack of suitable skills. this all according to our next guest